The Heart Of Alchemy
by SkyeFox
Summary: A surprise inspection from a mysterious General prompts a new lead in Edward Elric’s search for the Philosopher’s Stone. But just how much does this General know? And why does he look like an Ishbalen? Minor Yaoi in later chapters. OCxEd EdxRoy.
1. Chapter 1: General Stone

**The Heart Of Alchemy**

**Chapter 1: General Stone**

**A/N: **This is my first FMA fanfic. So yeah general disclaimers are that I don't own the characters...cause I'm poor... The only thing I claim is Chayim and that whole group of subordinates.

Oh! And this is your warning...there will be YAOI though light and slow in coming so take that into consideration.

* * *

Human kind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is the first Law of Equivalent Exchange and it is infallible. It is what gives humans their limits; you can only make what you can give. However, there is a legend of something that will allow such limitations to be overcome. It is called the Philosopher's Stone, a stone that has the innate ability to negate the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Many fakes have been made and countless lives lost in the attempt to gain the power inside. But the Philosopher's Stone is well hidden, almost impossible to find…or that's what we had been assured of. For if it wasn't well hidden, Alchemy would be unstoppable.

Alchemy is utterly complex yet simple in principle. Alchemy is a science in which you break an object into its base elements. These elements can be broken down further into four basic elements. These four elements are the basis of not only alchemy, but the entire world. Water, ever flowing and universal. Fire, burns the world apart in order to renew the life cycle. Earth, the foundation of the world around us. Air, necessary for life it balances the world. These four elements are always in balance. You cannot have one without the others. If a person was to arbitrarily change these elements the world would fail to work and fall apart. That is why humans were given a heart.

Their heart, and the emotions that it feels, are meant to temper us. To stop us from destroying the world around us through our own god-like tendencies. By this train of thought, our hearts are in balance with the world around us and therefore an essential fifth element. However, as if to contradict such a revelation, we as a race often do things that throw the balance of the other four and cause havoc. Because while our heart balances our ambitions a growing number of people seem to be able to overcome such an innate control. More and more people are becoming heartless. And those who base their work on the hearts of others are left with the pain it causes…

If someone was to overcome their heart and to also gain possession of the Philosopher's Stone…that person would be an unstoppable tyrant, under no restrictions and free to do whatever they should wish. No matter how depraved or terrible their wishes may be the world would lay at the mercy of their ice riddled heart…

* * *

"General Sir, are you alright?"

A bright red eye opened slowly from under the nest-like swirl of covers. The thick velvet drapes around the bed cut out the light, leaving only a thin line from where the soldier was looking through at his superior. The red eye closed as its owner groaned. "Get out Maverick."

"But Sir, you don't look so good." He said kneeling next to the large bed to peer at the barely visible mop of chocolaty hair that pooled out from under a pile of comforters. A thin, olive tinted, hand lay on top of the pillow weakly. "Should I call the doctor, Sir?"

"No." The General said not moving. "Just get out so I can get dre-" The voice broke into a hacking cough. The figure under the covers curled up as the coughing continued.

"Sir!" Maverick cried throwing the curtains wider as he put a hand to the shaking shoulder. After a few minutes the coughing subsided and a pained sigh took its place. "Sir…are you sure you're alright?"

"Get me my pills Maverick…and some water…" The General ordered, still sounding pained.

Maverick nodded. "Right away, Sir." He said hurrying off to do what he was ordered. Not long after he returned with the items and a military doctor in tow. "Here, Sir." He said holding a glass of water out to the hidden figure.

Finally the General sat up, coughing a few more times before taking the offered glass. The General was very young looking, one would only guess the age around 15 maybe younger. A fine, almost elfin, face that made it impossible to tell if the officer was a boy or a girl. Often mistaken for a teenage Ishbalen the General took the pills without question. "I didn't say bring a doctor, Maverick."

"I know, Sir but you sounded so bad I called Doc anyway."

"I should have you court marshaled." The superior officer muttered.

The Doctor scoffed. "You'll be doing no such thing, Chayim. Go on Maverick. I'll take care of General Mule here." The older man said waving towards the door before rummaging through his bag.

"I'm not a mule." Chayim muttered as Maverick saluted then left. "Besides…I'm fine, Doc."

"If you were fine you wouldn't be coughing up blood all the time." Doc said putting a stethoscope in his ears, the flat head pressed against the heated skin of Chayim's back, not bothering to lift the shirt up. "Now take a breath." Chayim rolled his eyes but did as he was told. He had barely inflated his lungs when he broke into another round of coughs. "See? You aren't alright at all. You're staying in bed today."

"Can't." Chayim replied simply, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. "The Furor wants the inspection done today." He said swinging his legs out of the bed and standing up on slightly unstable legs.

"You're barely able to stand, Chayim. You can't physically do it." Doc protested as Chayim headed towards the bathroom that attached to the bedroom.

"I can and will." Chayim said.

Doc threw his arms into the air in defeat. "Fine you crazy little-Gah! Don't blame me if you collapse!"

"I won't then." Chayim replied from the bathroom.

* * *

"We have a problem!" Hughes cried bursting through the door to Mustang's set of offices. Strangely enough everyone was there, including Edward and Alfonse (who had just returned from yet another dead end in search for the Philosopher's Stone).

"A problem? What kind of problem?" Mustang asked raising an eyebrow at his slightly eccentric friend.

"A surprise inspection! Conducted by General Stone himself!" Hughes said tears streaming down his face, hands twitching in front of him.

Mustang's eyes widened a fraction. "What's he looking for?!"

"Officially? It's just routine but I hear he's got his nose to the ground for illegal use of Alchemy in the military." Hughes said, glancing over to where the Elric brothers were standing. "If he see's Al here…"

"Who the hell's this Stone guy anyway?" Ed demanded, stepping in front of his brother who was looking at the floor silently.

"General Stone is a highly capable Alchemist. They call him The Prodigal Alchemist. He was the golden boy of the military for a long time before you came in, Ed. He just wasn't as young as you when he entered the military due to family issues I believe." Hughes explained.

"That doesn't matter now. Alfonse you need to-" Before Mustang could finish the sentence the door opened. A man with black hair in the routine military cut and dark navy eyes walked in and saluted Mustang. "Lieutenant Major Maverick." Mustang greeted with a similar salute.

"General Stone isn't feeling too well today so we're going to try and keep this quick if that's alright, Colonel Mustang." He said.

"Of course." Mustang said with a good-natured smirk. 'Maybe this wouldn't be too bad after all…'

A minute later the sound of military grade heeled boots echoed down the hall. The door opened revealing the short officer. His long dark hair was tied up in a messy ponytail placed high on the back of his head; the base was tied with a bandage. His olive skin was paler than seemed healthy and his red eyes had dark circles around them. His uniform was even slightly wrinkled. Everyone saluted automatically. "General."

"At ease." He said walking into the room fully. His red eyes scanned over the room, giving off a feeling that he knew far more than what he was showing. Those strange, Ishbalen-like eyes didn't miss a thing. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Hughes…"

Hughes laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head. "Well you know me! I just got this adorable new picture of Elishia and I just had to show everyone! Would you like to see it?" He asked pulling it from his pocket instantly.

"No thank you Hughes…I have a job to do." Stone said simply, ignoring the picture wielding man. With a sigh Stone made his way to the clump of people that had subtly moved to try (and was utterly failing) and shield the seven foot armor in the corner. He stood in front of the group and raised an eyebrow.

Reluctantly all but Edward moved out of the way. The two of them stood there looking at each other…or Stone was looking, Ed was glaring. Suddenly Mustang burst out laughing. "Looks like you finally sound someone shorter than you, Fullmetal!" It took a second but slowly the room all formed an imaginary dotted line between the two alchemists. Edward was almost two inches taller than the General.

Leave it to Ed not to notice that however…"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT ENOUGH TO-?!" Ed screamed. Suddenly, before his rant on things that weren't said could continue a slender finger pressed to his lips, keeping his mouth closed lightly but firmly.

"Now that's just unnecessary. You should learn how to control that temper, Fullmetal." Stone said, pushing the blonde back down to the flat of his feet with the finger over his mouth. "Now…please move." He ordered taking his finger back. Ed barely caught a glance of a transmutation circle tattooed to the inside of Stone's left wrist, but as soon as he caught sight of it, the blue sleeve of the uniform and the white gloves moved to cover it back up.

Ed frowned but didn't move out of the way. He wasn't going to let his brother be turned into some sort of experiment. Suddenly a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. Ed looked back and saw Al was the cause. "It's okay brother."

"But…Al…" Before Ed could protest anymore Alfonse stepped out from behind him.

Stone nodded, stepping closer to examine the armor better. After a few minutes he reached out and opened the front panel. The room was utterly tense as the General continued to examine the empty suit of armor. Finally he stepped back, closing the front panel as he did so. "A very solid soul binding, Fullmetal. Impressive. Especially considering you did it so quickly." Stone said turning away from Al to continue walking around the room.

Nearly the whole room turned to glare at Hughes. Stone hadn't done anything at all! Hughes gave a nervous laugh. "Well I'll just be going, since you don't need me around!" Within a second he had bolted.

Stone blinked after him. "What got into him?"

"You know Hughes, Sir." Maverick said with a shrug.

Stone gave dry laugh. "Yes, well let's continue shall we?" He turned to Mustang. "I'll need copies of your files, Mustang. Everything from Alchemy to Zeppelin. Maverick he-" Stone broke into another round of hacking coughs, doubling over with the force of it.

"Sir! You're not well! Let me take you to your room!" Maverick was at Stone's side instantly. After a minute the shorter man waved his subordinate away and straightened. Stone wiped his mouth, carefully pocketing his gloved hand as soon as he did.

Stone cleared his throat "Sorry about that. Where was I? Oh yes. Maverick will collect the files and bring them to my office. I'd stay longer, but as you saw I'm not in the best condition today. I'll be in touch. Good day." He said heading towards the door.

As soon as the door closed they heard more coughing that quickly disappeared. Maverick stuck his tongue out at the now closed door. "Mule!" He hissed. Suddenly he seemed to remember the others in the room. He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "The General never takes care of himself." He explained. "We told him he shouldn't have come in the first place."

"What's wrong with him?" Al asked sounding worried.

Maverick shrugged. "No idea. I asked him once and got a head-ache for an answer."

"What do you mean?" Ed asked raising an eyebrow.

"Ah…He started rambling about equations and red water and this that and the other. I thought my head was gonna explode…" Maverick explained with a sound of pain at the memory. "Sooo I don't ask General anymore questions. I just smile and nod. Now if you'll be so kind as to direct me to your files I'll get out of here as quickly as possible. Before he decides to turn me into a newt or something crazy…"

Edward scoffed "That's human alchemy."

"You act like he cares…" Maverick said dully.

* * *

"Are you always this stubborn or is that only when you're decaying from the inside out?" Doc asked grabbing Chayim's thin wrist to take his pulse, which was more difficult than he would have thought to do.

"Gee thanks…" Chayim croaked his heavy eyelids closed over his tired eyes.

"Well how else do you describe it? If I didn't know any better I'd say you were dying." Doc said dropping his wrist to the bed before packing his things.

Chayim gave a little chuckle. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you cared…"

Doc froze in his packing. "I care, Sir. You're not just my superior you know. I consider you a friend…a very annoying, highly frustrating friend but a friend none the less."

Chayim opened his eyes and looked at him with an indiscernible look. It was like those ruby eyes were trying to pierce his soul. "Don't be my friend, Doc. All my friends die. And I'm all that's left. I've seen enough death. You just focus on the living."

"Well you're alive aren't you? At the moment I'll focus on you." Doc said tracing a pulsing vein in Chayim's hand.

"Samuel…Go home to your wife. I'm sure she'd love to see you. I always keep you here with my health problems…I don't think you even _have _any other patients anymore. Go home Sam." Chayim ordered pulling his hand away and tucking it under the covers.

"But Chayim I-!"

"No. Don't you dare finish that sentence, Sam." Chayim brought his hand back up to cradle the Sam's cheek. "You are still so young…you see me and think what you feel is love…but really it is but a shadow of what it could be. You have seen my body…all of its flaws; you will not be satisfied when you realize I don't have what you need." Chayim let his hand fall closing his eyes against the bone weariness that beat at him.

"Do you think me that shallow?!" Sam demanded angrily.

"Tell me Sam…whom do you think you love? The man?" Chayim asked opening his eyes to look straight into Sam's. "Or is it my female parts that make you think such thoughts? Which would you call me? Your wife? Or your husband?"

Sam swallowed before answering. "I know it's hard on you, Chayim…not having a group to call your own. But I don't care! So you're a hermaphrodite! Who cares?! I don't, Chayim, I won't ever!"

Chayim smiled weakly. "Who are you trying so hard to convince, Sam? Me? Or yourself?" Sam was shocked to silence. Chayim settled into the bed again. "Go to your wife, Sam. She's good for you. And tomorrow if you would be so good as to file a request for patient transfer, I would appreciate it. Thank you for your services, Doctor." Chayim closed his tired red eyes again, dismissing the Doctor without another glance.

"Why do you keep pushing people away? You're going to die alone if you keep doing this, Chayim!" Sam said angrily.

Chayim sighed but didn't open his eyes. "I will not get into this argument. Not again. You are dismissed, Doctor." He ordered rolling over to face the other side of the bed.

"Fine. But don't come running to me later on!" He hissed as he stormed out of the room. Chayim flinched slightly when the door slammed after the doctor. The General sighed and curled up more under the blankets. 'I suppose I'll have to be more careful with my actions…' he thought.


	2. Chapter 2: Forbidden

"_Mother…what am I?" A young child asked, dark chocolate hair falling to cover downcast red eyes._

_The young mother brushed the hair to the side. "You are Chayim." She said softly._

_The young Chayim sniffed lightly before looking up. "The other kids…they say I'm a freak…what am I?" The child asked again._

_His mother sighed, a sad look crossing her face. "You get to decide that for yourself. Do you want to be a boy? Or a girl?" She asked maintaining her gentle tone._

"_What's the difference?" Chayim asked with a frown. Chayim was suddenly pulled into a hug. "M-mother? Did I say something wrong?" He asked as he felt the cotton shirt grow wet from his mother's tears. "What's the matter?" He asked again, growing frantic._

Chayim sat up with a gasp that quickly turned to a cough. After a moment the coughing subsided. 'Mother…' He thought falling backwards into the comforters on the bed. "Why did you cry that day? Did you know what would happen?" He asked the canopy of his bed.

After a while the General finally got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom of his suite. After a long hot shower the short man reappeared. He was wrapped in a light-weight yellow robe and had a fluffy towel wrapped around his neck to catch some of the water from his still wet hair. "Took you long enough, General."

Looking up Chayim frowned. "Maverick…what are you doing in my room?" He asked, eye twitching a little in annoyance.

"I brought the files you wanted." He said gesturing to the stack of manila folders that were now sitting on the bed. "Can I ask what you are looking for, Sir?" He asked as Chayim walked over to the bed and sat back down on its edge.

"Evidence." He said simply, sitting back against the headboard.

Maverick raised an eyebrow. "Of?"

Chayim didn't answer. He was already absorbed in the many files on his bed. He read through each file quickly before moving onto the next one. "Mustang's reports are horrible…looks like he did them at gun point or something." He muttered as he closed one of the files and grabbed another.

"Probably did…he is a serious procrastinator." Maverick supplied as he cleaned his gun.

Chayim looked over at where his assistant was sitting at the window seat. "Is he now?"

"Yep." Maverick said wiping the gun with the cloth again. "Hawkeye complains about it every time I see her in the bar. You'd know that too if you ever went out with me. You should loosen up some, Sir."

"You know I'm not allowed to drink." Chayim muttered opening the file in his hands.

"Yeah, Yeah." Maverick muttered.

The General's eyes narrowed as he looked over the file in his hands. Shifting he leaned closer so as to not miss a single thing. "Damn it!" He said suddenly dropping the folder and heading to the bathroom.

"Sir?" Maverick called concerned at Chayim's sudden activity. He had expected the General to be absorbed in the reports all day.

A few minutes later the short General came out in full uniform. "I have to see Mustang. This is _not _acceptable." He said pulling on his boots.

"What isn't?" Maverick asked jumping to his feet. "Sir?" He called as Chayim stormed out of his room and towards Mustang's office.

Maverick had barely caught up with the General when the door to the office burst open. "Mustang! Your office. NOW." He said glaring at the man at the end of the long table.

"General Stone, Sir, is there a problem?" Mustang asked heading towards the door behind him.

"Inside." Chayim ordered.

The two of them disappeared into the office, Chayim slamming the door behind him. Everyone turned to Maverick. "What's with him?"

Maverick shrugged. "He was reading the files we got and suddenly he got pissed and came straight down here…"

Inside the office General Stone turned to the door, he quickly pulled out a piece of chalk and drew an alchemy circle on the door. In a flash of light the entire room was transmuted into solid stone, allowing nobody to a) overhear what they were saying and b) escape the room without transmuting it first. Once that was done, the General turned back to Mustang. "You will explain to me your reasoning behind letting Fullmetal search for the Philosopher's Stone."

"Oh that." Mustang said with a sigh, he had thought he was in serious trouble. He sat down in his chair before starting his explanation. "He wants to find it to fulfill a promise to his brother, I believe. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Chayim echoed. "Fullmetal will die looking for something that does _not _exist. You will stop encouraging him and never mention any so-called leads to him again. His search is over. Is that clear?" He asked leaning over the desk to glare at the fire-wielding alchemist.

"Forgive me, Sir, but isn't all legend generated from some truth. The principle is sound; the existence of the Red Stones is proof of that. So why prevent him from continuing his research. None of the other high-ranking officials cared what Fullmetal was doing before. Why do you?" Mustang asked, eyes narrowing.

"The Philosopher's Stone doesn't exist, Mustang. Get that through your head. If you value Edward Elric's life at all, you will never mention that monstrosity ever again."

"So you admit it does exist?" Mustang asked, latching onto the last part of Chayim's warning.

"Do not make me court marshal you, Mustang." Chayim said straightening and completely ignoring the taller man's question. "If such an abomination were to exist…it would only cause pain and misery. Those boys have been through enough…don't you agree?"

"Is that a threat to harm the Elric brothers?" Mustang demanded standing up. He didn't exactly like the idea of the two of them…especially Edward being threatened.

Chayim smirked a little; it was the exact reaction he had hoped for. "Listen Mustang, The Philosopher's Stone cannot be acquired. It does not exist, because I say it does not exist. Edward Elric's skills would be best utilized in some other field. If you still have problems understanding this point, I will transfer him to another part of the military."

"You wouldn't dare." Mustang hissed, his hand clenching, fingers poised to snap and light the room on fire.

"Don't tell me what I would or wouldn't dare do, Mustang. If I must transfer him to some other part of the military to end this suicidal farce that you've put in his head…I most certainly will. I refuse to let any more people die in the search for something that does _not _exist!" General Stone said voice rising until it was nearly a roar.

Chayim turned and transmuted the room back to how it was before. The short General walked out of the office and towards the door at the end of the room, never once looking at the stunned military personnel that were there. Suddenly the General whipped around, finger held up in warning. "Remember Mustang. No more. I won't tolerate it. If I find you have gone and disobeyed my direct orders, I will have you court marshaled and sent to the deepest, darkest pit I can find. Trust me, I know quite a few." He said, glaring at the taller man who was standing in the doorway.

Mustang nodded and saluted. "Understood…Sir."

"Good. Maverick. Let's go." Chayim said leaving in much the same way he entered…violently.

"What was that about, Colonel?" Riza asked blinking after the two officers that had just left.

Mustang sighed, glancing at Edward and Alfonse who he knew wouldn't take to this new order. "We have been ordered…to abandon research of the Philosopher's Stone."

"**What?!**" Edward demanded jumping over to Mustang and raising his fist threateningly. "What do you mean abandon?! What about Al!?"

"According to General Stone…The Philosopher's Stone doesn't exist therefore any and all research is nothing more than suicide. He's even threatened to transfer Fullmetal to another section of the Military should the search continue, and of course I would then be court marshaled for disobeying a direct order." Mustang explained, keeping a placid look painted onto his face as best he could.

"So what? We're just outta luck?" Edward demanded.

"No…we're just going to have to be very careful from now on." Mustang said still looking at the door that Stone had slammed behind him. "The General knows something about the Stone…otherwise he wouldn't be so adamant about stopping the search for it."


	3. Chapter 3: The Book

"Mmkay, we need to find out what Stone knows…any ideas?" Mustang asked looking over at Hughes expectantly. After the little outburst in the office the day before everyone had been scrambling to try and fix the problem. Right now Hughes seemed to be their best bet since he always had his ear to the ground for information.

"Actually…yes." Hughes said with a smirk. "General Stone is well known for having constant health problems, he even has a military doctor assigned to watch his health at all times. However, the General also has a tendency to switch doctors often. He just dismissed his latest one two days ago."

"So you think that Stone's old Doctor might have some information?" Mustang asked raising an eyebrow as he looked over at his friend. The two of them were sitting in their usual spot in the military bar, glasses sitting in front of them mostly untouched.

Hughes nodded, taking a sip from his glass. "That's him over there." He said nodding towards a corner of the room where a disheveled man was sitting, nursing a large glass only half full. "They always look like that for about a month after Stone gives them the boot."

"Always?"

"Always." Hughes confirmed. "If anyone would know anything about Stone _and _be willing to talk…it'd be him. I doubt you'd be able to convince Maverick to say anything. He's pretty loyal to Stone for some reason."

Mustang nodded. "I guess I should go talk to him." He said getting out of his seat and heading to the corner where the doctor was sitting. The man didn't look like much of a doctor…his hair was everywhere and his clothes looked like they had been slept in a few times. "Mind if I join you?" Mustang asked before sitting down, not bothering to wait for an answer.

"Who the hell are you?" The doctor asked raising an eyebrow. Despite the obviously large amounts of alcohol in the man's system it was easy to see the man was alert and very aware.

"Roy Mustang." He introduced. "I need to ask you a few questions."

"Oh yeah? About what?" the doctor asked, sounding highly annoyed with the Colonel.

Mustang smirked a little. "About General Chayim Stone."

The doctor smiled a little. "Reeaally? Well I suppose I might be able to answer a few…harmless questions. After all he's not _my _patient or anything…What do you want to know?"

"What's the General's connection to the Philosopher's Stone?" Mustang asked leaning forward slightly so that he could lower his voice and still be clearly heard over the din of the bar. "Why does he want to stop people from looking for it?"

The doctor mused silently for a minute, taking a few drinks from his glass before leaning forward to answer Mustang's question. "It's really very simple, Mustang…the reason Chayim's health is so bad is due to an alchemic transmutation gone wrong. This transmutation involved an attempt to create the Philosopher's Stone. As far as I know his equations weren't _quite _equal so the missing bits were taken from his body."

"He tried to create one?" Mustang whispered, slightly disbelieving. He wouldn't have pegged such a stickler for the rules to have attempted that…but that would explain Stone's firm stance on it being a menace and abomination, especially if he was still suffering ill effects from the attempt.

The doctor nodded. "You want to know more about that Stone…I suggest looking in Chayim's locked book. It looks like a diary…small and black with a lock on the front, it has all of Chayim's best alchemy in it. If there's anything about his research it'll be there."

"Do you know where the book is?" Mustang asked glancing around to be certain nobody was trying to listen in on their whispered conversation. Seeing nobody even remotely interested Mustang turned his dark eyes back to the scorned man sitting across from him.

"In the bookshelf in Chayim's room…there's a large green book called The Foundations of Alchemy and its Elemental Bases. It's a false book. Open it up and you'll find the locked book inside. Have at it…just be sure to get out of there before Chayim gets home or he'll do something drastic. He doesn't like it when people ask him questions about himself, feels they're prying." The doctor said bitterly before taking another swallow of his drink. "Is it prying to want to know how your friend ended up coughing up parts of his lung, I ask you?"

"Never had the pleasure of asking anyone that to find out…" Mustang answered warily. "Well you've been extremely helpful…but I have to go now." Mustang said getting to his feet.

"Yeah, yeah…that's all I ever am, is 'helpful'. I help other people and then they walk away…like I'm nothing more than a…a…tool to be used." He said. It seemed the alcohol was finally catching up with him. "Oh! One more thing…if Chayim _does _catch you…don't bother to lie about how you found out about his book…go ahead and tell him I sent you."

Mustang nodded. "I'm going to avoid being caught as much as possible but if it happens I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He said before heading out of the bar. Hughes would most likely be behind him shortly, he had to tell this to Edward. Mustang himself couldn't break into the General's room, it was far too risky…and that's what subordinates were for, right?

"So this Stone guy tried to make a Philosopher's Stone…" Ed mused, his hand to his chin in thought.

"That's what our source tells us. If you can get your hands on that book you should have all of his research." Mustang said. He had just finished relaying everything Stone's ex-doctor had told him to both of the Elric Brothers. "You need to get into his room and find that book Edward. But be sure not to get caught…if there's one person you don't want to have to fight it'd be General Chayim Stone. Plus you aren't supposed to be working on finding the Philosopher's Stone anymore."

"Yeah yeah, I get it already. Just tell me where the guy lives and I'll take care of the rest." Ed said confidently.

Mustang sighed, Ed would never change… "790 Eldaro Avenue." He supplied.

"Alright. You stay here, Al. No offense but you aren't very…stealthy." Ed said with a bit of a laugh. "Don't worry it probably won't take long." Ed continued standing up from his seat and heading towards the door, forgetting to salute the Colonel on his way out.

It didn't take long for Edward to find the large house that sat at 790 Eldaro Avenue. It was at the top of the hill and had a tall stone fence around it with a wrought iron gate. The gate looked like something that cost a lot of money. The different bars of iron twisted together elegantly to form menacing points. In the very middle and top of the gate the iron twisted forming an intricate heart shape with a large S inside. Edward whistled in appreciation.

The gate was only the beginning though, the whole house screamed **WEALTHY!! **And there was no way anyone could forget it. A carefully cultivated lawn and garden surrounded the house. The perfect edged of the landscape met the paving stones of several paths that wound around the grounds. A large fountain sat in the middle of the circle drive. Four faceless people holding a giant transmutation circle carved from what looked like marble.

The house itself was three stories high with a stone façade. The roof was gabbled with several gargoyles standing guard over the property. The whole place looked like an ancient church; it even had a stained glass rose window in the front over top of a huge set of dark wooden doors. In the back of the house Ed could just make out the side of a glass wall. 'A greenhouse maybe?' Ed thought as he approached the sweeping staircase that led to the front door.

There was another two gargoyles framing the staircase, snarling towards whoever came up the stairs. The knocker for the door didn't seem to fit at all. It was a pair of beautiful women holding an engraved ring; it contrasted heavily to the gargoyles that decorated the rest of the house. Taking a deep breath Edward reached out and knocked on the door.

A few minutes later a young woman opened the door. Edward guessed she was a maid, since she was wearing a typical maid's uniform. "Can I help you?" She asked, voice telling how annoyed she was.

"I'm here to deliver something to General Stone." Ed said not missing a beat, he had thought of a plan before getting to the house.

"General Stone stays in his apartment in the barracks during the week. You will find him there." She said eyes narrowing.

"I understand…but I was given direct orders to deliver the message here…could I maybe leave it here for him?" Ed asked politely, trying to sound like a harried and overworked delivery boy.

The woman thought for a minute. "I'm sorry but that's really not acceptable. You will have to go to the barracks."

'Crap.' Ed thought, though he smiled politely anyway. "I see thanks anyway." He said turning to go back down the steps. As soon as the door snapped shut Ed jumped off the stairs and hurried around to the side of the building. "Time for plan B." He said as he reached a wide expanse of stone that he could transmute without possibility of taking down the whole structure.

The clap echoed right before a flash of bright light filled Ed's vision. A moment later there was a large hole in the wall opening up to what looked to be a storage room, filled with nothing but bags of flour, boxes, and a few barrels. 'Probably near the kitchen…' Ed thought sneaking in and quickly transmuting the stones back to how they were before.

Cracking the door open Ed looked around and saw a large, old-fashioned, kitchen. The most advanced thing in the room seemed to be a refrigerator. Instead of a stove there was a huge fireplace that was roaring, heating the kitchen to nearly unbearable levels. A large pot was hanging over the fire as an older man hovered over it, apparently checking on whatever it contained. Quickly Ed slipped out of what he was now sure was the pantry and bolted to the door nearby.

Once outside of the kitchen the air turned cooler. The hallway had a variety of old art work hanging on the walls and a few rugs in the middle but little else. Moving as quickly and as quietly as possible Edward started to search for The General's bedroom…where this book was supposed to be.

After finding three bathrooms, a sitting room, study, and barely tearing himself away from a huge library Ed found himself in a bad mood. "How loaded can one person be?" He muttered opening yet another door. "Bout time." He said finally seeing the master suite laid out before him.

The bedroom was just a rich as the rest of the house. A large canopy bed with dark green velvet curtains sat proudly in the center of the room. Edward instantly spotted the bookcase on the far wall, next to a window seat. Quickly he walked over and grabbed the large book that supposedly held the locked one. Ed opened the book and removed the smaller one from the cut out section, just as he heard footsteps approaching the door. 'Shit!' He thought looking around frantically for a way out.

The handle of the door started to turn and Ed dove out of sight. He just crawled under the bed when the door opened and he saw highly polished boots enter the room. "Do you need me to bring you anything, sir?" The maid from earlier asked, sounding like she was still outside the room.

"No thanks Marta…I just need some rest…" Ed could easily identify the voice as General Stone's.

"I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow, sir…Do you need me to call a doctor for you?" Marta the maid asked politely.

"No no…I'll be alright. That will be all, Marta." Stone said walking around the bed and sitting down, causing the bed to sink right overtop of Edward's head. A moment later the door to the room closed. Ed heard the General sigh above him and a minute later the dark blue military jacket fell to the ground.

'This isn't good…' Ed thought as Stone reached down and yanked his boots off. The rest of the uniform quickly followed the jacket. Ed was fighting a blush as he realized that the General was now in the same room (a bedroom none the less) with virtually no clothes on. The blush only increased when a pair of black boxers landed on the pile of clothes as well. 'Oh god! Please don't look under your bed!' Ed thought frantically. How could he possibly explain this one?!

Ed sighed in relief, however, when the General walked over to the dresser and put on some night clothes almost immediately. The last thing he needed was to be seeing a superior officer naked while breaking and entering in said officer's house. Stone headed back to the bed only to stop as he started hacking.

The liquidly sounding coughs continued for a few minutes as Stone made his way to, from the tiled floors that Ed could see, appeared to be the adjoining bathroom. Water started to run in the sink and a few minutes later Stone's bare feet came back out into the bed room. 'Oh please let me get out of here before this guy sees me…' Edward prayed as the General sat down on the edge of the bed again.

Stone seemed to lie down on the bed, giving several more terrible coughs. After several minutes Edward heard a light, almost wheezing sound. It took Ed a minute but finally realized that Stone had probably fallen asleep. 'If he coughs like that regularly it's no wonder he has trouble breathing when he's asleep…' Ed thought finally relaxing a little.

Ed hadn't realized how tense he had been while watching Stone move about the room. Slowly the blonde crept out from under the bed, freezing when Stone made a slight whimpering noise in his sleep. Still moving very slowly Ed got to his feet and started towards the window, it wouldn't be too hard for him to jump down what with his automail leg and all.

Stone made another pained sound, causing Ed to whip around. The General was wearing a pained expression to go with the sounds he was making. 'He looks like a girl with his hair down…' Ed thought staring at the liquid chocolate that covered the pillow. Stone shifted in his sleep, bringing Ed's attention back to the sleeping General's face.

A thin sheen of sweat clung to Stone's brow, which was creased from the frown he wore. Ed could see Stone's chest rising and falling faster than normal underneath the thick comforter. General Stone gave a few weak coughs as he rolled over, turning away from Edward.

Ed sighed and shifted the book in his hands as he turned back to the window. This was getting too close to being caught for comfort. Ed winced as the window made a noise when he opened it. Glancing back at the sleeping officer Ed sighed again as he noted that Stone hadn't seemed to notice. 'At least he falls asleep fast or who knows how long I might have been hiding under there…' Ed thought putting a foot on the windowsill in preparation for his leap.

Suddenly Ed stopped, hearing a muttering from behind him. Turning he realized it was coming from the sleeping General. "…break an object into its base elements… four basic elements…Equivalent Exchange…negate the Law…The Philosopher's Stone…Eldorado…"

'Eldorado?...is that where the Stone is?' Ed thought as the General continued to mutter words and phrases. Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps outside and Ed quickly jumped out of the window, landing with a thud on the hard ground below. 'Gotta get outta here!' He thought as he scrambled to his feet and hurried towards the front gate of the property, stolen book in hand.


	4. Chapter 4: Ishbalan

At the sound of someone jumping out of the window General Stone finally opened his eyes. He sighed slightly. "Do you really think me that easy to steal from, Fullmetal?" Stone asked the open window. But the answer was obvious by the breeze that drifted in through the window and played across his olive skin.

It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed that the false book was not where he had left it. Nor did he fail to notice the streak of black as Edward scrambled out of sight. But he rather had hoped that the young alchemist wouldn't think so low of him to not notice an intruder in his own bedroom. And since he really didn't want to arrest the boy, he would let it go for the moment, he was too tired to chase Elric anyway. Besides he doubted there was anything in that book that would help much in his search for the Philosopher's Stone.

If Edward had done his homework he'd find many people to attest to Chayim's sleep mutterings, hence the reason he had indulged in them. Why he mentioned Eldorado he didn't rightly know…he hadn't thought of that place in some time. _I bet that's where he'll go next…his bull headedness does lend itself to a certain charm I suppose…Not as if he'll find it anyway. Eldorado is as dead as the people in it._

A small smile forced the edge of Chayim's lip to move upwards. "Come now, Edward…do you really think I would write down where I hid the blasted thing?" Chayim sighed and rolled over. "My reputation must be slipping…I'll have to fix that tomorrow…"

"Brother!" Al called in greeting as the blonde came into the room, slightly out of breath from running back from The General's mansion.

"Well, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked curiously. "Did you find the book?"

Ed gave a huge grin and held up the little black book. "You bet I did, ya crappy Colonel. Nearly got caught by Stone but I got it alright. And he was muttering something about 'Eldorado' right before I got outta there." He offered sitting down at his desk and easily breaking the lock on the book. The other soldiers crowded around, curious at what might be in the mysterious, yet innocuous, little book.

"As in the mythical city of gold?" Hughes asked.

Ed nodded as he opened the book. "Yeah, since one of the stone's powers is transmuting gold I thought it might mean that's where the stone is hidden or something." He offered as his gold eyes instantly started skimming through the writing and equations scrawled across the slightly yellowed paper. It was thicker and rougher paper than Ed was used to, almost like the old parchment that some of the really high class alchemy books were written on in the restricted section of the library.

"What's in it, Brother?" Al asked eagerly. This was the best lead they'd had in such a _long _time.

"Give me a minute…geeze this guy's handwriting sucks…" Ed muttered flipping pages quickly. He could barely contain his own excitement; this was some heavy duty alchemy in this book like: equations to equal human souls (an equation that Ed noticed was not finished), transmuting perfect human limbs, regenerating dead plants, even the diagrams were amazingly advanced with designs that Ed had never even dared think to add to his transmution circles. "This is…This guy's a genius…its crazy…" Ed said in awe, he hadn't been this overwhelmed with pure knowledge since he was cramming for the alchemy test to become a state alchemist.

Mustang leaned further over Ed's shoulder. "What is that in the transmution circle?" He muttered curiously. He'd never seen such a ridiculously complex design. "Wait…it looks familiar…I've seen it somewhere…"

"Well I would hope so…" Ed muttered. Roy flinched a little, he hadn't meant for anyone to hear his musings…"It's a Vesica Piscis. It's the basic idea of uniting two polar opposites. It's also how images get reflected through the eye." He supplied as he started to flip the pages again, making sure to go slowly so as to not rip any of them.

"Hold on…" Ed said reaching a page that looked more like a diary excerpt than equations and theories. The writing was tighter, slightly neater, and actually followed a paragraph structure (unlike the notes before it). "I think I got something here." He said before he started to read the passage out loud.

"_I've given up hope on restoring Eldorado. Nothing seems to destabilize the gold, which I find peculiar considering I have never failed to transmute gold one way or the other before. I am so very furious with myself! All those people…turned to gold for the rest of time. It's such a horrible sounding demise; I hate myself for bringing it upon them. I should have known the Ishbalens would not harbor a thing as terrible as The Philosopher Stone. But the only question now is…what to do? I can't very well bring such destruction upon the rest of the world. And as much as I loath to admit it I seem to have backed myself into a corner where the Military of Amestris is concerned. I'll not let them decide the way the world shall play out; I don't trust them with power. Not yet. They aren't ready for it. But then…who is ever ready to bear the burden of this power?_

_I found an interesting map carved into the wall of the Temple of Ishbala. Perhaps that is where my answer lies. Do I dare use the hiding place of the one people who despise me more than myself? I probably wouldn't survive the trip there much less survive if any Ishablens were to be found there. But it seems as if I have no choice in the matter either. The river Lia will be flooding soon, with the coming rains from the mountains to the west. This entire valley will become unreachable…and inescapable if that happens. I have to make my decision quickly…I hate being rushed…"_

Ed put the book down with a frown. "He…gave the Stone to the Ishbalens?" Breda asked sounding confused.

"Well he wouldn't have to worry about them using it now would he? They find alchemy unnatural and except Scar we've never come across one that thought anything different." Hughes said with a shrug. "But more importantly, I think the General may have given us enough clues about where Eldorado is located to find it. Or at least the valley he said it was located in."

"He did mention a river…" Hawkeye moved to her desk and pulled a large map out, rolling it across Edward's where everyone was still congregated around. "But I don't recognize the name." She added scanning the surface for the name Lia.

After a few minutes of searching none of them could find the River Lia either. "W-wait a minute." Al said suddenly. "The General wrote about the Military of Amestris. Doesn't that mean he's not from Amestris?…so maybe…wherever he's from calls the river something different than we do?" he suggested.

Edward gave his brother a smile. "Not a bad idea Al. We just gotta figure out where the General is from now."

A few minutes of silence fell over the room. "Anyone happen to know?" Fuery asked to the awkward silence.

Edward had been assigned the job of keeping an eye on the General while the rest of them went searching any records they could think of for said General's birthplace. Ed had complained loudly about that, but Mustang had replied with the defense that Ed got to do all the spy work last time and it was time for the rest of the team to have some fun. Unfortunately for Ed the 'team' had agreed and overruled every viable retort he came up with.

Stone was currently lying on the roof of the central offices, ruby eyes closed as the breeze tossed a few loose strands of hair around. Ed was peering around the corner at him, making sure he didn't move. Though in all honesty it looked like the man had fallen asleep. Suddenly Stone sighed. "Edward! Are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna come over here and talk like a civilized person?" He called, not even bothering to open his eyes.

Ed, obviously, was surprised and jumped before getting a hold of himself and coming around the corner with as much dignity as he could muster. "How'd ya know I was there?"

Stone smirked a little, head still cushioned beneath his arms. "I can smell your shampoo with the way the wind is blowing. I didn't take you for a strawberry kinda guy…"

Ed turned red faced. "It was all that was in there!! I didn't have a choice you-"

Chayim laughed a bit. "Easy, Fullmetal…it's not necessarily a _bad _thing. I myself have a bit of a preference for the smell of the rainforest…it's so relaxing." Edward almost laughed…_almost. _It came out more of a snort than a laugh. Chayim opened one eye to look at him. "What?"

"Sorry you just don't seem like the kinda guy who _relaxes_." Edward said, hands in his pockets to give the illusion that he was more at ease than he really was. Knowing that the alchemist in front of him could do some of the stuff he had been reading yesterday made him a bit more leery of the short man.

"And you are?" Chayim shot back. "Sit down, Edward…it's terribly uncomfortable for me to talk to someone standing over me like that and I happen to not feel like moving right now." He all but ordered as he closed his eye again.

Edward hesitated. Did he trust this guy…well no but then again he hadn't ratted Al out either so…With a sigh Edward sat down next to the officer, keeping his eye out across Central than looking at the man that was being so casual next to him. Suddenly a thought occurred to the golden boy of the military. "General?"

"Mm?" Chayim showed he was listening with the barest movement of his eyebrows.

"Where are you from…you look…just like-"

"An Ishbalan." Chayim finished with a smirk. "Yes…I've heard."

Edward waited a minute. "You aren't are you?" He asked again.

"Aren't what?" Chayim asked back, still looking careless.

"An Ishbalan." Edward answered.

"What about them?" Chayim was thoroughly enjoying this little game, as evident by the smile on his face when Edward made a noise of frustration.

A minute later Edward tried again. "Are you an Ishbalan?"

Chayim took the minute to think of his answer this time. "What do you think? Am I an Ishbalan? Or some poor guy who has bad genes?" This time he opened both eyes to look at Edward fully.

Edward recognized a test when he saw one. "Well…" He started, composing his answer carefully. "You have all the features of an Ishbalan…but you are an Alchemist which isn't something that Ishbalan's believe in so logically I'd say you weren't if it weren't for the fact that I don't know of any other people with Ishbalan features."

Chayim smiled a bit. "And?"

"And…the only way to be both Ishbalan and an Alchemist, at least by what I've heard, is that you would have been outcast of Ishbal." Edward finished uncertainly. He hated tests like this…he barely knew what the test was much less how the General would react to what he said.

Chayim smiled wider and settled back into his original position, eyes closed again. "So why bother asking?"

"Y-you mean?! You are an Ishbalan?!" Ed said jumping to his feet in surprise. He had been almost positive that he was completely wrong. Especially with all the stories he'd heard about the religiousness of Ishbalans. It just didn't seem possible.

Chayim chuckled a bit. "My mother was Ishbalan…my father was not. It made my situation a little more…unique than that of most that grew up in Ishbal. I knew from a very early age that I was not exactly welcome so I decided if I was going to be an outcast I might as well be the best outcast possible and went off to study the one thing we weren't ever supposed to even mention. Never really went back." He explained. "But your reaction is quite typical, don't worry about it."

Edward sat back down. For some reason his head refused to wrap itself around this new little tidbit. They had an Ishbalan…working as in Internal Investigator…for illegal alchemy? Something just didn't seem right about that…almost…too ironic. Even for the military. It was almost as bad as- "Hold it…does Scar know you're an Ishbalan?" he asked suddenly.

Chayim opened his eyes again, this time in confusion. "Scar?...Oh! The killer with the alchemic arm…I highly doubt it. I didn't fight in the Ishbal uprising…or whatever they're calling it now. It was considered a conflict of interest and I was ordered to stay put in central."

"Wait a minute…you're saying you've been in the military for as long as the bastard Colonel?" Edward said looking the man over again. Not a fleck of age seemed to stick to him though. No grays, no wrinkles, no blemishes and while the others weren't exactly old either Chayim still looked to be Ed's age…if not younger.

Chayim blinked a little before laughing again. "Oh let me guess…I couldn't be more than sixteen? Right?" Edward nodded. "Okay…let's do a little math…as an alchemist you should be able to do that…I have been a General for almost fifteen years now…and you _are_ technically the youngest alchemist to make the cut so I must be at least older than 12 when I was accepted. And I don't know about you but I was most certainly not made General right away. Let's say it took another five years to build rank or so. That means…"

"…You're at least…33?!? That can't be right! You don't look it at all!" Edward said jumping to his feet again and pointing at the man in an accusing manner.

Chayim just looked amused. "And what would you say if I said I was older?"

"There's no way." Edward muttered sitting back down, arms folded stubbornly.

Chayim laughed, finally sitting up properly, mostly so that he could whisper into Ed's ear. "Aww…no need to flatter me, Fullmetal. It'll go to my already too big head." Before Ed could react, Chayim was already on his feet and heading towards the stairs. "Thanks for the chat…it was more fun I've had most days." He said waving over his shoulder casually. 


	5. Chapter 5: Sickness

The others were understandably shocked at the news that the General was from Ishbal. But at least they now had their answer as to where he was from. "Using Ishbal as a starting point…this river here runs right through the top half of the country. This river must be Lia. And the river runs right through this valley up here in the mountains. It's pretty well isolated." Hawkeye said following the ragged line on the paper with her finger.

"The closest town is this one here…Erum." Hughes added pointing to a small dot several miles from the base of the mountain range. "It's pretty small. The trains don't even come close to it."

"We'll have to find a way there. We can rent a car I suppose." Mustang said hand on his chin in thought.

"We?" Hughes asked. "Roy you can't go. It'll look too suspicious."

Roy sighed a bit. "It was worth a shot. I guess Fullmetal and Al will have to go instead." Ed hardly noticed Roy's comment. He was too busy with thoughts about the Philosopher's Stone to worry over anything the Colonel said.

The very next day Ed and Al were on the train to a small town called Dalasona, the last stop that the train went to. After that they would try and find a cab or something to take them to Erum. And from there they'd have to walk into the mountains. Edward sighed a bit. "This isn't gonna be easy." He muttered as he looked out at the quickly passing scenery.

"I wish there was a town closer to this part of the mountains." Al commented.

"Yeah…or better yet I wish we actually knew where we were going…stupid bastard Colonel. Sending us to the middle of nowhere…don't even know where we're going…" He continued to mutter under his breath for several minutes until he got bored with it and sat back with a sigh. He really hoped this wasn't just another wild goose chase.

Edward reached into his pocket and pulled out the General's little black book and flipped to the page he had left off on. It was absolutely fascinating how many different equations and formulas there were. He felt like he hadn't even skimmed the surface of Alchemy when he looked at all the work Stone had done with it.

After several hours of reading Edward came upon another page that looked like a diary entry. There were tiny dots of light reddish brown on the page. Like dried blood. Edward suppressed a shudder and turned his attention to the writing.

_I'm sick. _

Edward's eyes widened in shock at the bluntness of those words. He glanced up at Al but thankfully his brother wasn't paying him any attention. Edward looked back down at the words in the book.

_I don't know how much longer I can fend off my death but I must find a way to prevent this power from falling into unworthy hands before I go. And I will. I accept it. Equivalency and all that. I've begun coughing almost every day, blood usually. I've seen death before so I know that is the only thing coming to me. I've come up with a foolproof plan however. I'm almost certain that the power I unleashed with that foolhardy transmutation all those years ago will never fall into anyone else's hands. All that's left to do is find a way to do it._

_I was just struck by the irony of the situation. Me. Writing about Alchemy in a temple of Ishbal. In one of their most sacred cities. If that's not blasphemy then I have no idea what is. Maybe that's why I'm dying…I have a habit of disrespecting higher powers it seems. And my sick sense of humor can't help matters._

Edward closed the book and looked out the window again. The General…was dying? It just didn't seem possible. With all the Alchemy that he knew he couldn't do a thing about his own sickness. Alchemists have stopped sicknesses before.

Edward shook his head slightly to dispel those thoughts. The General also said something about unleashing power. That must have been referring to the Philosopher's Stone. Did he…Did someone actually succeed in making a Philosopher's Stone and not just a Red Stone?

That Doctor had told Roy that Chayim Stone was sick because of a failed attempt to create the Philosopher's Stone. But…what if that was just what The General wanted everyone to think. What if…he actually accomplished the single most impossible feat in all of Alchemy? A few days ago Edward would have dismissed the thought as ridiculous. But now, looking at all of the notes and formulas in the General's little black book. It suddenly became a very real possibility.

Edward opened the book again and started flipping through the pages, looking for anymore blocks of text that might hold more clues as to where The General had hidden the Philosopher's Stone. Several pages after the last block of text Edward came upon another. The very first word was exceedingly sloppy and larger than most of the rest of the text.

_DAMN! What a stupid thing to do! What moron went and made a fake human!? I swear I was attacked no less than three times as I left the mountains. I wonder if the Humonculi realized how very clever a hiding spot I found for their prize. Heh. They'll never find it. The Mountains go on for miles. And they can dig for the next thousand years and never come near it. I think they know that though. Considering how they kept demanding I tell them as they attacked me. Why do they do that? Do they really think violence is going to make me tell them? Apparently so._

_Anyway…I have decided I shall build myself a small home near that little village called Erum. I'll stay there for a while until I die I suppose. Keep an eye on things from there. Don't need morons to stumble across something I took so much care to hide now do I? It shouldn't be too hard to build a home for myself. I can transmute gold from anything…as is obvious by the tragedy at Eldorado. I don't believe I shall ever forgive myself for that one. I can't believe I lost control over a transmutation. I haven't done that since I was a boy!_

_Also…if I make a home for myself I can finally get some rest before I die. My body is giving out even faster than I thought it would. I had a terrible nose bleed the other day. The second this week. And I nearly passed out after. At least everything is set for it. I'll be dead and the secret will go with me to the grave. And since it's impossible to bring someone back from the dead. Well then I'll have nothing to worry about. I'll probably burn this book when I feel I'm about to pass on. I'm sorely regretting that. I've recorded so much knowledge and research in it. Such a loss._

Edward tapped his finger against the top of the book. So the General had a house outside of Erum. That was definitely worth a stop. He might have left more clues in the house that would help them find Eldorado. And now therefore the next step in finding the Philosopher's Stone. They were so close to restoring their bodies Edward could practically feel it.

Roy stifled a yawn as he bent over yet another report that Riza was making him do. There was nothing worse than reports. Suddenly the door opened and General Stone came in, a knowing look on his face. "Colonel Mustang…where have you gone and sent Fullmetal?" Correction. _That_ was worse.

Roy leaned back in his chair. "Oh nowhere special…just doing a small inspection job in a mine." He lied.

"Really?" Stone asked eyebrow raised.

Mustang nodded. "Yeah…pretty boring stuff. He raised hell about it too. But what can ya do? These things have to be done after all."

"Indeed they do." Chayim said rounding Mustangs office slowly. He didn't bother to close or transmute the door this time and he knew that the others were listening as best they could without being obvious. "Did you know that someone broke into my estate yesterday?"

_Okay. That was even WORSE. _"How…terrible, Sir."

"Mmm…much like your ability to lie." Chayim commented.

Mustang was careful to compose himself. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sir. But I don't appreciate the insinuation."

Chayim studied the taller officer for a minute before shrugging. "Then get better at lying." The General examined his nails as he spoke again, "How long do you expect it will take Fullmetal to do this _Investigation_?"

"No more than a week I'm sure. But Fullmetal has been known to be unexpectedly delayed." Mustang said having firmly regained his footing.

Chayim nodded. "I will love to read the report on his findings." He said as he headed for the door. "After all…gold mines are so rare these days."

Mustang frowned as The General left the office. He hadn't said anything about what kind of mine Edward was supposedly inspecting. The General really did know that he was lying. And he really did know the truth of the matter. _You'd better get back fast, Ed… _


End file.
